Kenworth displays 12.9-Liter PACCAR Engine in a T800

Kenworth Truck Company displayed a PACCAR heavy-duty engine in a Kenworth Class 8 tractor for the first time at the Great American Trucking Show in Dallas, Texas. The engine was developed by PACCAR's DAF Division in Europe.

The 12.9-liter PACCAR engine is being produced for the North American market and was displayed in the Kenworth T800 test truck. The tractor is part of a fleet of vehicles with PACCAR engines undergoing extensive testing in North America.

“Kenworth is testing PACCAR heavy-duty engines in a wide variety of applications, terrains, and climate conditions,” said Mike Dozier, Kenworth chief engineer. “The engine program includes test cell work, testing on the PACCAR Technical Center track in Mount Vernon, Washington, and road tests. These tests are serving to validate designs and manufacturing processes and will ensure that these heavy duty engines will be ready for eventual introduction into Kenworth Class 8 trucks.”

DAF has 50 years of experience in heavy-duty diesel engine design and manufacturing. PACCAR is leveraging this experience and quality as it works toward supplying engines for Kenworth Class 8 trucks in North America, according to PACCAR officials.

The engines eventually will be built in the United States. PACCAR held a groundbreaking ceremony for its new engine plant in Columbus, Mississippi, in July. The $400-million facility will include a 420,000-sq-ft engine plant and technology center on a 400-acre site. Construction should be completed in 2009.

Some of the new engines will be installed at the Kenworth plant in Chillicothe, Ohio, which recently finished a 105,000-sq-ft expansion. The expansion increases Kenworth's overall plant capacity by 20%.

Other engines on display in Kenworth's booth included the PACCAR PX-6 and PX-8 medium-duty engines currently available for Kenworth's medium-duty conventional products, and PACCAR's European 12.9-liter and 9.2-liter heavy- duty engines.

In addition to the T800, Kenworth displayed a T660 with the Kenworth Clean Power no-idle system and W900 long-nose conventional with 86-inch Studio AeroCab. The Kenworth Clean Power Technology Tour truck is visiting Dallas in conjunction with the Great American Trucking Show.